Drunk boy video sparks park plan

A young boy was filmed apparently drunk after consuming a lot of alcohol. The video has been digitally altered.

A young boy was filmed apparently drunk after consuming a lot of alcohol. The video has been digitally altered.

Relevant offers

The YouTube clip of a drunk 9-year-old boy at Fairfield has sparked a community to life with a home-grown plan to bring fun, games and positive vibes back to the park.

Fairfield pastor Dennis McCaskill enlisted the help of Hamilton's DJ Stretchmark to play a concert at the Free Tent Party planned for three afternoons next week.

McCaskill runs a church out of the community hall next to the skatepark on Clarkin Rd and said underage drinkers were a common occurrence.

"We started a church down at that area and every time we go there, there is always an abundance of kids with nothing to do really . . . and access to certain things and they are either stoned or drunk."

The event was already in draft form but the footage of the stumbling boy that went viral this week prompted an immediate reaction.

"It was a catalyst I guess, it's given it more drive and impetus," he said. "It was always going to happen but that 9-year-old kid who was drunk is nothing new down there and that's one of the reasons why we are doing it."

He said the reaction to the clip, where people voiced their opinions and laid blame would come to an end and when the dust cleared the hard work would begin.

"Everyone gets a little bit upset, has their piece to say and then forgets about it and moves on until the next one happens," he said.

A plea went out on McCaskill's Facebook page after his sound system was damaged and he said he would have to rely on donations to pay for the event.

McCaskill is a youth worker who helps people released from custodial sentences. He said change took time and effort.

"If you develop a relationship with children and teenagers and they can trust you, and they've got someone to go to, they are less likely to end up in that system."

The Free Tent Party will run at the Fairfield Park on January 16 to 18 from 2pm to 4pm.

PEOPLE JUDGING DON'T KNOW MY FAMILY - MUM

The mother of a 9-year-old boy who got drunk at a Hamilton skate park wants the adults who gave him alcohol to be charged.

She has spoken out about the ordeal of having her son's drunken experience broadcast online and in the media, describing it as "horrible" and "ugly".

A video was posted online that shows her son with a can of bourbon and cola struggling to stand, being abusive and slurring his words at Fairfield Skate Park in Hamilton on Tuesday.

It has been viewed more than 700,000 times and published on dozens of websites around the world.

The original version was online again yesterday after being removed on Thursday at the request of police.

It has provoked public outrage, with many comments posted online directed at the boy's parents.

His mother, whom the Times has chosen not to name, said comments from "people thinking they know the situation when they don't" have been hurtful.

"People act like it happens all the time in my family. This is like a situation that was a random thing," she said.